Packet switched network voice communication

ABSTRACT

Method of confirming the establishment of a voice connection, such as a VoIP connection, between first and second end stations coupled to a packet switched communications network. The voice connection is used to transfer an audible request from the first end station to the second end station, to ask the user of the second end station to generate a predetermined vocal response. The first end station compares any response from the second end station to the predetermined vocal response. The connection is determined to be established in response to a successful comparison. The predetermined vocal response includes a predetermined speech sequence comprising characters, a word or words, and a speech recognition procedure is applied to the received response to determine the presence of any speech sequence for comparison with the predetermined sequence. If a fault is detected an alternative connection is established to execute a process to correct the fault.

The present invention relates to a method of confirming theestablishment of communication via a voice type connection between firstand second end stations coupled to a packet switched communicationsnetwork. In particular, the present invention provides a method ofallowing a call centre to automatically arrange for a VoIP connection tohave a certain standard before the call using the connection is passedon to a call centre operative.

Internet Protocol (IP) based communications have the potential to allowthe convergence of voice, video and data communications. One of thedominant factors preventing the widespread deployment/acceptance of suchIP based services is quality. Two of the principal quality concerns areecho and voice breakup due to IP packet loss.

Echo is caused by two types of effect, namely line echo and acousticecho. Line echo is caused by factors in the transmission media, whereasacoustic echo is caused by the acoustic room reflections which resultfrom the use of a standard multimedia set up consisting of a pair ofspeakers and microphone. Headsets do not cause acoustic echo as there isno acoustic path between the headset's earphone speakers and itsmicrophone.

In traditional voice communications networks (e.g. the Public SwitchedTelephone Network-PSTN) echo (line echo and, to a certain extent,acoustic echo) were managed by solutions that were fixed in location;and were at the core of the network (i.e. away from the communicatingparties and within the network domain).

With IP based networks echo management within the network is not alwaysfeasible. This is due to echo delay jitter to which some echo controlprocesses are intolerant. Thus if effective echo management is to beachieved in IP based communications some other method of echo managementis required.

Voice break up due to IP packet loss is exclusive to packet basedcommunications (circuit switched networks like the PSTN do not have thisdefect). To manage this problem it must first be detected, although,once detected, means to eliminate it or minimise it to acceptable levelsneed to exist. However this problem can be fully manifest at the userend of the communication path, and then ‘network domain’ solutions areunable to determine the full extent of the problem which accordinglyprevents the implementation of a solution.

The closest equivalent problem to occur in circuit switched networks isa reduction in the signal quality. However, in this case, the problem isovercome for example by turning up the line volume. A solution usingthis approach was described in the Japanese Patent Publication 10-301595“A Voice Recognition/Response Device” to NEC. In this document, a voicerecognition system is used to attempt to recognise voices spoken in atelephone line. If the voice recognition system is unable to determinethe words used, then it is assumed that the signal to noise ratio on theline is too poor and accordingly, the line volume is adjusted to providea better signal. However, as there is no equivalent to a signal to noiseproblem that can be overcome by adjusting the signal volume, then thisis not applicable to packet switched networks

In addition to this, further problems may arise due to problems with anend user's computer hardware or software. This may occur for example ifthe VoIP applications software required for the call, such as “NetMeeting”, has not been installed correctly. Alternatively software orhardware problems may be caused by viruses, or by inexperienced computerusers not having their computer configured correctly. Thus, for example,it may be that the user attempts to conduct a VoIP call without having asound card installed, or without having the microphone or speakerscorrectly plugged in to the computer system. Accordingly, in thesecircumstances, the user of the computer would believe that the VoIPconnection is not functioning correctly even though the connection hasbeen correctly established.

Accordingly, when a VoIP call is being made, it is possible that one ofthe parties involved in the call believes that a connection has not beenestablished due to their inability to correctly configure the computerfor operation.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a method ofconfirming the establishment of communication via a voice typeconnection between first and second end stations coupled to packetswitched communications network, the method including:

-   -   using the voice type connection to transfer an audible request        from the first end station to the second end station, the        audible request asking the user of the second end station to        generate a predetermined vocal response;    -   causing the first end station to monitor for any response from        the second end station;    -   comparing any received response to the predetermined vocal        response; and    -   determining that communication is established in response to a        successful comparison.

In this regard, the term voice type connection refers to any connectionwhich allows calls to be made which operate to transfer audio data and,additionally optionally video data.

Typically the predetermined vocal response includes a predeterminedsequence of words wherein the method of comparing the received responseand the predetermined vocal response includes the steps of applying aspeech recognition procedure to the received response to determine thepresence of any words in the response; and, comparing the wordsdetermined from the received response to the predetermined sequence ofwords. The speech recognition procedure can be used to determine whetherthe received response is suitably similar to the predetermined vocalresponse, although alternatively, this check may be performed manually.

The voice type connection is usually a VoIP connection established bythe first end station with the connection being established utilising anIP telephony protocol, although the voice type connection could beestablished by either end station using an appropriate protocol.Typically the first end station is part of a call centre and theconnection is established in response to a request made by the secondend station for communication with the call centre. However,alternatively the second end station may be the terminal of a callcentre operative, with the first end station operating to check theoperatives terminal set-up.

The audible request typically comprises a pre-recorded set of vocalinstructions. However, the audible request could direct the user of thesecond end station to access a web page an e-mail, or the like whichincludes instructions for generating the predetermined vocal response.Thus, the predetermined vocal response is typically a set phrase, withthe user being asked to say the phrase over the voice type connection.

Typically the method of correcting a fault includes causing first endstation to communicate with the second end station via alternativeconnection; determining the faults with the VoIP connection; andcorrecting the faults.

Thus, for example, the alternative connection may include e-mails,instant messaging, SMS messaging, a separate WAP (wireless applicationsprotocol) connection, or a web connection. However this list is notexhaustive and any suitable connection can be used.

Typically the method of determining the fault includes transferring apredetermined set of questions to the second end station via thealternative connection, and monitoring responses received via thealternative connection from the user of the second end station.

The method of correcting the faults may include sending a number ofpredetermined instructions to the user of the second end station, viathe alternative communications link, the predetermined set ofinstructions being selected in accordance will the responses receivedvia the alternative connections. As an alternative however the method ofcorrecting a fault can include transferring software to the second endstation via the alternative connection.

If an end station is operating to confirm the establishment ofcommunication via a voice type connection, this is usually achieved byhaving the processor transfer an audible request to the second endstation and then monitor for any response received from the second endstation, monitor for any received responses and compare any receivedresponse to a predetermined vocal response to determine whether theconnection is successfully established.

The audible response is typically stored in a store together with any ofthe sets of questions which may be transferred to the second station viaan alternative connection, as described in more detail above.

The present invention also provides, a method of operating a call centreto receive communications using voice type connection between the callcentre and an end station, the method including causing the call centreto establish a voice type connection between call centre and the endstation in accordance with the method of the first broad form of thepresent invention.

In this case, the techniques can be used to asses the voice typeconnection both of incoming calls and of the call centre operatives.This can be achieved by ensuring that incoming calls and call centreoperatives initially connect with the first end station to allow thecommunication ability to be checked.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are hereinafterdescribed, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a first example of a communicationsystem according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one of the end stations of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a second example of a communicationsystem according to the invention; and,

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the checking system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 1 shows a basic communication system formed from two end stations1,2 coupled together via a communications network, such as the Internet3. Although this example is specific with respect to VoIP calls made viathe Internet, the current techniques can be directed to any voice typecall which is made over a packet switched communications network betweentwo end points. In this regard, the term voice type call is any callwhich operates to transfer audio data and, additionally optionally videodata. Accordingly, this system could be used with any packet switchedcommunications network, such as an Ethernet LAN, or the like.

The end stations 1, 2 are shown in more detail in FIG. 2. As shown, eachend station includes an interface 10 for coupling the end station to theInternet 3. The interface 10 is coupled to a processor 12 and memory 13,via a bus 11. Also coupled to the bus 11 is an input/output device (I/Odevice) 14. Accordingly, it will be appreciated by a skilled person thatthe end stations typically are formed from computing devices adapted touse the Internet, such as personal computers, laptops, or palmtopshaving a suitable modem or interface 10, as well as, Internet readytelevisions, or the like. From this it will be appreciated that the I/Odevice 14 typically includes a keyboard, and a monitor.

In order to allow VoIP communication to be performed, speakers 15 and amicrophone system 16 are also provided which are coupled to the bus 11using a sound card 17, as shown. In order to provide for a VoIPconnection, the processor 12 will execute applications software 12 a,such as Net Meeting™ which is capable of configuring the processor 12 toprovide VoIP communication. This will usually therefore be achieved byimplementing one of the telephony signal protocols, such as H.323 or SIP(Session Initiation Protocol).

In addition to this, the processor 12 is also capable of executingapplications software 12 b, allowing the end stations 1, 2 tocommunicate via the Internet in another manner. Accordingly theapplications 12 b will typically comprise of a web browser, e-mailsystem, or the like.

In this example, it is assumed that the end station 1 is to initiate thecall as well as to carry out the confirmation of establishment ofcommunication. In order to be able to achieve this, the processor 12 ofthe end station 1 also implements voice recognition applicationssoftware 12 c and quality checking applications software 12 d, as shown.

In order to initiate communication the end station 1 will generate adata packet in accordance with a respective telephony protocol. Thisdata packet, which is transferred over the Internet 3 to the end station2, will request the establishment of a VoIP connection in accordancewith a predetermined quality of service. If the end station 2 is capableof accepting such a connection, it will generate an acceptance packetwhich is transferred back via the Internet 3, to the end station 1. Uponreceipt of the acceptance packet, the end station 1 can begintransmitting data packets along the VoIP connection.

This is the standard procedure for establishing VoIP connections, aswill be appreciated by a person skilled in the art. Accordingly, thefirst stage is for the end station 1 to determine whether the endstation 2 is aware that a connection has been established. This processmay be performed under the supervision of a user of the end station 1.

In order to determine whether the user of the end station 2 appreciatesthat the connection has been established, the end station 1 willgenerate an audible request which is transferred to the end station 2via the VoIP connection. The audible request will typically ask the userof the end station 2 to speak a predetermined word or phrase into theirmicrophone so that this can be detected by the end station 1 to confirmthat the communication is successfully established.

As an alternative however the audible request may be selected so that adifferent vocal response is generated each time by the user of the endstation 2. Thus, for example, the predetermined response that isrequired to be spoken by the user of the end station 2 may be the date,or the answer to different questions. As a further alternative, thepredetermined response could be a password or the like, allowing thesystem to incorporate a security check, such as a network logon.

This audible request could be spoken directly by the user of the endstation 1, although it will usually be generated automatically from oneof a number of audible requests stored in the memory 13. Once this hasbeen done, the audible request will be transferred to the end station 2and played back to the user of the end station 2 through the speakers15.

Assuming that communication is correctly established, then the user ofthe end station 2 will hear the audible request and speak back thepredetermined words or phrase into the microphone 16. Thus, the userwill speak the requested phrase, indicate the date, vocalise a password,or the like. This will be transferred back via the Internet 3 to the endstation 1 and be detected by the processor 12.

If the system is in automatic operation, then the processor 12 operatesto receive the vocal response input by the user of the end station 2 andperforms a speech recognition process on this received vocal responseusing the speech recognition software 12 c. The aim of this is todetermine exactly what the user of the end station 2 has said. It willbe appreciated that this comparison check may alternatively be performedmanually by a user of the end station 1.

If the words spoken by the user of the end station 2 can be discernedusing the speech recognition technique then these are compared to thewords or phrase referred to in the audible request. If the words orphrases match, this indicates that suitable communication has beenestablished, whereas if the words or phrases do not match, or if noresponse is received, this indicates that there is a problem with theestablished link.

Accordingly, in this case, it is necessary for the end station 1 tocommunicate with the end station 2 in an alternative manner. In order todo this, the end station 1 will communicate with the end station 2 viaan alternative connection, such as via the sending of a web page to theusers browser, via an e-mail, via an SMS message, or the like.

It will be realised that whilst this additional connection is preferablymade via the Internet 3, this is not essential as long as informationcan be transferred to the user of the end station 2. Thus, theconnection may alternatively be made using a telephone call, via thePSTN.

In the present example, the end station 1 returns a web page which istransferred to the end station 2 indicating that the vocal response wasnot correctly received. In addition to this, the web page will typicallyinclude further instructions concerning how the user of the end station2 can continue to proceed so that the system can be configuredcorrectly.

Thus, if no response is received by the end station 1, this indicatesthat there is a fault with the initial connection or there is a faultwith the configuration at the end station 2. This may have occurred forexample if the speakers 15 or the microphone 16 were not correctlyconnected to the end station 2, or for example if the speaker volume wasturned down.

Accordingly in this case, the web page will ask the user of the endstation 2 to indicate whether the original audible request was heard,and if so whether any attempt was made to provide the predeterminedvocal response which is required.

If the user of the end station 2 indicates that no request was heardthen the end station 1 will utilise this information to access aknowledge base (KB) or expert system stored in the memory 13. The KBwill indicate for every particular eventuality or at least everypossible answer to all the questions, the action that can be taken toimprove the communication situation.

Thus, for example, if the user of the end station 2 is unable to hearthe audible request, then the processor 12 of the end station 1 willaccess the KB and transfer a set of instructions to the end station 2asking the user to check that the speakers are correctly connected andthat the volume is turned up. If this is unsuccessful, the end station 1may determine that the connection was not correctly established andoperate to establish a new connection. The process will then be repeatedwith the new connection in place.

Alternatively, if the user of the end station 2 heard the audiblerequest and attempted to generate predetermined vocal response which wasnot received, the KB will provide a set of instructions asking the userof the end station 2 to check that the microphone is correctlyinstalled.

In the situation in which the end station 1 receives a vocal responsefrom the end station 2 but the words or predetermined phrase cannot bedistinguished by the voice recognition applications software 12 c, thenthis indicates to the processor 12 of the end station 1 that the qualityof the communication is too poor to be of use. This will typically becaused by a large amount of acoustic echo at the site of end station 2,or by a large amount of packet drop outs.

In order to overcome this, the quality checking applications software 12d of the end station 1 may access a software agent stored in the memory13 and transfer this via the Internet 3 to the end station 2. Thesoftware agent would automatically operate to adjust the speaker andmicrophone volumes in the end station 2 to try and reduce the level ofacoustic echo. Alternatively instructions may be sent to the end station2 which instruct the user to make appropriate changes to the volumelevels.

Alternative solutions that may be required are the provision of newapplications software (possibly as upgrades) that is required for theVoIP connection to function correctly, new software for the system ingeneral, such as new driver software or new DLL files, as well assoftware to overcome the problems of data packet loss.

An alternative solution, especially with respect to acoustic echo, is tohave the user of the end station 2 switch to half-duplex mode ofoperation. In this mode sound is only transferred over the connection inone direction at a time, thereby ensuring that sound is not emitted fromthe speakers when the microphone is in use, thereby preventing theoccurrence of acoustic echo.

As would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, it may takeseveral iterations of questions and instructions before the problems arefully overcome.

In the event in which the problems could not be overcome, an indicationof this is transferred from the end station 1 to the end station 2 viathe alternative connection. Thus, for example, a web-page may bereturned to the end station 2 indicating that as the problem could notbe overcome, then the connection will be dropped and subsequentcommunication must then be achieved in a different manner, such as byphone.

The above described techniques may be applied to the situation of a callcentre, or the like. In this case, the end station 1 could act as partof the call centre with the end station 2 being a person making anenquiry of the call centre. The call centre may for example form part ofthe contact centre management system described in the specification ofthe Applicant's International Patent Application No. PCT/AU02/00021.

In this case, the person at the end station 2 may be, for example,browsing web pages or the like which include a link to the call centre.In this circumstance, if the user of the end station 2 selects the linkto the call centre this will cause a request to be sent to the callcentre end station 1 requesting a VoIP connection.

Upon receiving the request, the end station 1 at the call centre willoperate to initiate a link with the end station 2 and then perform acheck of the voice quality achieved over this link. This will be doneautomatically before the user at the end station 2 talks to a callcentre operative.

Accordingly, in this example, the end station 1 will automaticallygenerate the audible request which will be transferred to the endstation 2. The end station 1 will then operate to automaticallyconfigure the connection so that a suitable call quality is achieved, inthe manner described above.

Once suitable call quality has been achieved, the call will betransferred to a call queue to be answered by one of the call centreoperatives in turn. Checking that the line quality is acceptable beforethe call is transferred to the call queue ensures that time is notwasted by the call centre operatives in instructing the user of endstation 2 to configure their line correctly, with this already beingdone before the call is queued.

It will be appreciated from the above that the end station 1 need not benecessarily be involved in communication itself. Accordingly, the callcentre operative may be located on a different end station (not shown)so that a separate system can be used to check the quality of the VoIPconnections between separate end stations.

An example of this is shown in FIG. 3, which shows a number of endstations, 21, 22, 23, 24 coupled to an IP Network shown generally at 25.The IP network includes a call centre network 25 a which together withthe end stations 21,22 and a check system 26 forms part of the callcentre. The call centre network 25 a is coupled to a more generalnetwork, such as the Internet 25 b. This configuration is used to allowremote third parties to contact the call centre via the Internet 25 b.

In use, if a call is to be made between, for example, the end stations21, 23, then one of the end stations 21,23 will initiate the connectionwith the other end station 21,23 in the normal way. At this stage, theattempt to initiate a connection will be detected by the check system26.

Before the connection is established, a connection will first beestablished between each of the end stations, 21, 23 and the checksystem 26. The check system 26 will then operate to check the quality ofthe established VoIP communication in accordance with the techniquesoutlined above. Once the check system 26 has determined that each of theend stations 21, 23 is capable of performing VoIP connection up to apredetermined quality, the check system 26 will then interconnect theend stations 21, 23 allowing VoIP communication to be performed.

In the example of the call centre mentioned above, the end stations 21,22 therefore represent end stations used by the call centre operatives,with the end station 23 representing the end station of a user making anenquiry to the call centre.

In this case, before any calls are taken by the operatives of the endstations 21, 22, the check system 26 will operate to check that the endstations 21, 22 are configured correctly. In order to do this, when anoperative user of one of the end stations 21, 22 initially logs on tothe call centre system, they will enter a user name and password.

At this point, the check server 26 will be notified that the end station21, 22 is logging on to the network. Accordingly, the check system 26operates to generate an audible request which is transferred to the endstation 21, 22, as required. The above described procedure of having theoperative of the end station vocalise a predetermined phrase, or thelike, will then be performed in order to check the operation of the endstation 21, 22. Thus, the technique will be as described above with thecheck system 26 replacing the end station 1 and the end station 21,22replacing the end station 2.

Once this has been performed the operatives of the end stations 21,22may operate to take calls.

In this situation, when the user of the end station 23 requests helpfrom the call centre, the user of the end station 23 will automaticallybe coupled to the call centre network 25 a via the Internet 25 b.

Once this has been achieved, the check system 26 will operate togenerate an audible request which is then transferred to the end station23, to allow the quality of the VoIP communication with the end station23 to be checked.

An example of a check system 26 suitable for performing this operationis shown in FIG. 4.

As shown, the check system 26 includes a quality checking module 31, avoice recognition module 32, and an VoIP call handling stack module 33which are coupled to a network card 34 as shown. The network card 34couples the checking system 26 to the call centre network 25 a.

In use, when an end station 21,22,23,24 makes a call, or logs on to thecall centre network 25 a, the connection request is transferred to theVoIP call handling stack module 31 which operates to generate andtransfer an audible request back to the end station via the network 25.The check system 26 will then function in a similar manner to the endstation 1 as described above.

Thus the voice recognition module 32 will perform the function of thevoice recognition applications software 12 c in the first example, withthe quality checking module 31 performing the function of the qualitychecking applications software 12 d.

Accordingly, the voice recognition module 32 will operate to receive anyresponse generated by the end station 21,22,23,24 and attempt torecognise the response. If the response cannot be recognised, thequality checking module 31 will operate to cause the check system 26 tocommunicate with the end station in an alternative manner to attempt toimprove the quality of the connection.

As the check system 26 forms part of a call centre, it will be typicalfor the check system 26 to have to deal with a number of incoming callssimultaneously. In order to do this, the check system may in fact beprovided with multiple ones of each modules 31,32,33.

Thus, for example, the system may include five VoIP call handling stackmodules 33, ten voice recognition modules 32 and two decision modules31. This would allow a single check system 26 to check the VoIPcommunication quality for a number of different connectionssimultaneously.

It will be appreciated that the modules may be implemented as part as asingle server. Alternatively, however separate servers may be providedfor each module, or at least each type of module. In this case, thecheck system would be made from a number of interconnected servers.

Furthermore, whilst the above example has been described with respect toa call centre, it will be appreciated that the check system 26 may beincorporated into any network. Thus, for example, the network 25 couldcomprise the Internet, with the check system being used to check thequality of calls made between subscribers to a quality control system.Thus the quality control system may be provided for example to allowconference calls to be performed. In this case, as each end station21,22,23,24 attempts to join the conference call, the check system 26will check the quality of the VoIP communication thereby ensuring thatthe end station can join the conference call without destroying thesound quality of the call.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerousvariations and modifications will become apparent. All such variationsand modifications which become apparent to persons skilled in the art,should be considered to fall within the spirit and scope of theinvention as broadly herein described.

1. A method of confirming the establishment of communication via a voicetype connection between first and second end stations coupled to apacket switched communications network, the method including: a) usingthe voice type connection to transfer an audible request from the firstend station to the second end station, the audible request asking theuser of the second end station to generate a predetermined vocalresponse; b) causing the first end station to monitor for any responsereceived from the second end station; c) comparing any received responseto the predetermined vocal response to provide a successful comparisonor an unsuccessful comparison; d) determining the voice type connectionto be established in response to a successful comparison; and e)determining a problem with the voice type connection in response to anunsuccessful comparison.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein thepredetermined vocal response includes a predetermined speech sequencecomprising characters, a word or words, and wherein the method ofcomparing the received response and the predetermined vocal responseincludes the steps of: i) applying a speech recognition procedure to thereceived response to determine the presence of any speech sequence inthe response; and ii) comparing the speech sequence determined from thereceived response to the predetermined sequence.
 3. A method accordingto claim 1 wherein the voice type connection is established by the firstend station, the voice type connection being established utilizing an IPtelephony protocol.
 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein theaudible request comprises a prerecorded set of vocal instructions.
 5. Amethod according to claim 1 wherein the voice type connection is a VoIPconnection, and wherein the packet switched communications networkincludes the Internet.
 6. A method according to claim 1, furtherincluding correcting any fault in the voice type connection in responseto determining the problem.
 7. A method according to claim 6, whereinthe method of correcting the fault includes: i) causing the first endstation to communicate with the second end station via an alternativeconnection; ii) determining the fault with the voice type connection;and iii) correcting the fault.
 8. A method according to claim 7, whereinthe alternative connection includes at least one of e-mail, instantmessaging, SMS, a WAP connection, or a web connection.
 9. A methodaccording to claim 8, wherein the method of determining the faultincludes transferring a predetermined set of questions to the second endstation via the alternative connection, and monitoring the responsesreceived via the alternative connection from the user of the second endstation.
 10. A method according to claim 8, wherein the method ofcorrecting the fault includes sending a number of predeterminedinstructions to the user of the second end station via the alternativecommunications link, the predetermined set of instructions beingselected in accordance with the responses received via the alternativeconnection.
 11. A method according to claim 8, wherein the method ofcorrecting the fault includes transferring software to the second endstation via the alternative connection.
 12. A method of operating a callcenter to receive communications using a voice type connection betweenthe call center and an end station, the method including causing thecall center to establish a voice type connection between the call centerand the end station in accordance with the method of claim
 6. 13. Amethod according to claim 12, wherein establishment of the voice typeconnection is initiated by the end station in accordance with an IPtelephony protocol.
 14. A method according to claim 13, whereinestablishment of the voice type connection is initiated by the callcenter in response to a request received from the end station via analternative connection.
 15. A method of checking callers includingconfirming establishment of communication with a caller according to amethod as claimed in claim 1 before queuing the caller in a queuingsystem.
 16. A method of checking agents including confirmingestablishment of communication with an agent according to a method asclaimed in claim 1 before the agent is considered available for handlingcalls received by a call center.
 17. A method of checking callersincluding confirming establishment of communication with a calleraccording to a method as claimed in claim 1 before the caller joins aconference call.
 18. A method according to claim 1, wherein thepredetermined vocal response includes a predetermined speech sequencecomprising characters, a word or words, and wherein the method ofcomparing the received response and the predetermined vocal responseincludes the steps of: i) applying a speech recognition procedure to thereceived response to determine the presence of any speech sequence inthe response; and ii) comparing the speech sequence determined from thereceived response to the predetermined sequence.
 19. A method accordingto claim 1, wherein the audible request comprises a prerecorded set ofvocal instructions.
 20. A method according to claim 1, wherein theproblem is a fault.
 21. A method according to claim 1, wherein theproblem is poor quality in the voice type connection.
 22. A first endstation adapted to confirm the establishment of communication via avoice type connection with a second end station, the first and secondend stations being coupled to a packet switched communications network,the first end station including: a) an interface for coupling the firstend station to the communications network, the voice type connectionbeing established via the interface; b) a processor coupled to theinterface, the processor being adapted to i) use the voice typeconnection to transfer an audible request from the first end station tothe second end station, the audible request asking the user of thesecond end station to generate a predetermined vocal response; ii)monitor for any response received from the second end station; iii)compare any received response to the predetermined vocal response toprovide a successful comparison or an unsuccessful comparison; iv)determine the voice type connection to be established in response to asuccessful comparison; and v) determine a problem with the voice typeconnection in response to an unsuccessful comparison.
 23. A first endstation according to claim 22, wherein predetermined vocal responseincludes a predetermined speech sequence comprising characters, a wordor words, and wherein the processor is further adapted to compare thereceived response and the predetermined vocal response by: i) applying aspeech recognition procedure to the received response to determine thepresence of any speech sequence in the response; and ii) comparing thespeech sequences determined from the received response to thepredetermined speech sequence.
 24. A first end station according toclaim 22, wherein the first end station further includes a store coupledto the processor, the store being adapted to store the audible requestin use, the audible request including a prerecorded set of vocalinstructions.
 25. A first end station according to claim 22, wherein theprocessor is adapted to establish the voice type connection inaccordance with an IP telephony protocol.
 26. A first end stationaccording to claim 22, wherein the processor is further adapted tocorrect any fault in the voice type connection in response to anunsuccessful comparison.
 27. A first end station according to claim 26,wherein the processor is further adapted to: i) communicate with thesecond end station via an alternative connection; ii) determine thefault with the voice type connection; and iii) correct the fault.
 28. Afirst end station according to claim 27, wherein the alternativeconnection comprises at least one of e-mail, instant messaging, SMS, aWAP connection, or a web connection.
 29. A first end station accordingto claim 27, wherein the processor is adapted to determine the fault by:a) transferring a predetermined set of questions to the second endstation via the alternative connection, the predetermined set ofquestions being stored in the store; and b) monitor the responsesreceived via the alternative connection from the user of the second endstation.
 30. A first end station according to claim 29, wherein theprocessor is adapted to correct the fault by sending a number ofpredetermined instructions to the user of the second end station via thealternative communications link, the predetermined set of instructionsbeing selected from a range of sets of instructions stored in the storein accordance with the responses received via the alternativeconnection.
 31. A first end station according to claim 22, whereinpredetermined vocal response includes a predetermined speech sequencecomprising characters, a word or words, and wherein the processor isfurther adapted to compare the received response and the predeterminedvocal response by: i) applying a speech recognition procedure to thereceived response to determine the presence of any speech sequence inthe response; and ii) comparing the speech sequences determined from thereceived response to the predetermined speech sequence.
 32. A first endstation according to claim 22, wherein the first end station furtherincludes a store coupled to the processor, the store being adapted tostore the audible request in use, the audible request including aprerecorded set of vocal instructions.
 33. A first end station accordingto claim 22, wherein the problem is a fault.
 34. A first end stationaccording to claim 22, wherein the problem is poor quality in the voicetype connection.